


Camping in Costco

by Yelir61



Category: Mahou Sensei Negima!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26705731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yelir61/pseuds/Yelir61
Summary: One is a broke college student, looking for a safe haven. The other is an exasperated manager, just trying to run their store. Their battlefield: Costco.
Relationships: Kagurazaka Asuna/Yukihiro Ayaka, Konoe Konoka/Sakurazaki Setsuna
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	Camping in Costco

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a Tumblr post by [isayoldbean.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/isayoldbean/profile) Enjoy!

Ayaka forced herself to take a deep breath. She did not swear. Swearing was beneath her. Both as the daughter of the CEO of Costco, and as an employee of said company, she had a reputation to maintain. She must remain composed and self-assured at all times, never letting stress get to her. As a manager, she had to serve as a good example to all her employees. Which meant that she must remain calm.

Asuna did not make this easy. “Can I help you, ma’am?” she asked innocently, her fake moustache already half-falling off.

“I believe I made it clear that you are not welcome in this store, Miss Kagurazaka,” Ayaka said frostily. “I’m sorry, but I must ask you to leave.”

Asuna tilted her head, as if puzzled. “Kagurazaka? No, you must have me confused with someone else! My name is...Carlos.”

“Asuna, you are literally just wearing a fake mustache! You didn’t even bother to change anything else about your appearance!” Ayaka said angrily. “Who let you back in? Was it Mana?”

Asuna hastily pressed her mustache back into place. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I believe you’ve mistaken me for someone else. If you’ll just-” She abruptly broke into a sprint down the aisle, grabbing a free sample from a tray as she ran. Ayaka chased after her, no longer caring what anyone else thought.

“Damn it, Asuna! Get back here!”

* * *

When Ayaka had begun to hear rumors of a college student living in Costco, she’d thought it had been a joke. A large number of their customers were college students after all, and they did have an abundance of free food. When the rumors persisted, she had figured it had become a full-blown urban legend. Ayaka was too busy to pay attention to such things, so she didn’t give it much thought. It was only upon overhearing a conversation between Konoka and Setsuna that she had realized just how serious the situation was.

“What!” Ayaka interrupted, slamming her hand down on the table. “You know this girl?”

Konoka nodded eagerly. “That’s right! We’re both in Intro to Anthropology together. We usually sit next to each other, too.”

“What makes you think this Asuna is the one living here?” Setsuna asked cautiously. As a security guard, Setsuna took her job very seriously, something that Ayaka appreciated. She was always very diligent about the store’s safety. And if she spent a little more time guarding the pharmacy counter, where Konoka worked, then was strictly necessary, well...Ayaka could overlook that.

“Well, early in the semester, she was worrying about her apartment. Apparently, even with all her part-time jobs, she was having a lot of trouble paying rent! Most of it is going towards her tuition. I offered to help her out, but she said she didn’t want any charity.”

Setsuna sighed. “You should not be so free with your money! If people believe you are an easy mark, they may start to harass you!”

“Oh, I’m not worried about that!” Konoka said cheerfully. “I know that you’ll keep me safe from any bad people.”

Setsuna blushed. “I-of course I will! It is my duty, after all. I must look after all Costco employees.”

“Of course,” Ayaka said dryly. “In any event, what does this have to do with the rumors?”

“Well, I insisted that she at least let me treat her to lunch. And while we were eating, I mentioned that I worked here. She seemed interested, so I told her all about it. I even joked that between the display mattresses, the wifi access, and the free samples, you could probably live here!”

“And you think that she took you seriously,” Ayaka said with a sigh. “I doubt there’s any truth to these rumors, but it would be irresponsible not to take precautions. What does this girl look like?”

“Well, she has long red hair,” Konoka said thoughtfully. “She is really athletic, and kind of tall. I’d say she’s your type.”

“Wha-what!?” Ayaka spluttered. “That’s not-that’s not at all relevant! Setsuna, if you see a girl matching this description acting suspiciously, please escort her from the premises!”

Setsuna nodded in acknowledgement.

* * *

“So then I said, ‘Try and make me, you jerk!’ And I kicked him in the stomach!” a loud female voice said proudly. Ayaka rounded the corner, to see a tall, red-headed girl talking animatedly with Konoka and Setsuna. The three were seated at a table, where they were apparently eating lunch together. Konoka smiled upon seeing her, waving her towards them.

“Hello Ayaka!” Konoka said happily as she approached. “This is my friend Asuna I was talking about.”

Ayaka opened her mouth to give an automatic greeting, before frowning. “Asuna? The student supposedly living here?”

“What?” Asuna said unconvincingly. “That’s ridiculous! I just like shopping here!”

“And taking naps on the mattresses, apparently,” Setsuna said sternly. “Which is what you were doing when I found you.”

“I was just testing it! I’m thinking about getting a new bed.”

“You were snoring. How long were you there?”

“Se-chan!” Konoka said sweetly. “Open up!” She offered the girl her fork.

Setuna’s head jerked towards her. “I-no, I couldn’t!” she stammered, her interrogation of Asuna forgotten.

Ayaka sighed, watching Konoka coax her into taking a bite, before returning her attention to Asuna. “I do hope you understand that attempting to live here would be illegal,” she said sternly. “Not to mention unsanitary. We don’t have any showers.”

“No problem! I’ve got a gym membership through the university. Part of my tuition,” Asuna said easily, before freezing. “Er. Not that it matters, because I’m not living here!”

Ayaka crossed her arms. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Setsuna, would you…” she trailed off. Setsuna wasn’t paying attention, too engrossed in whatever Konoka was saying. “Very well. I will escort you out.” She reached for Asuna’s arm.

Asuna darted away, a half-eaten hot dog in hand. “Sorry, but I just remember I left something in an aisle,” she said quickly. “I’m just going to go and grab it.” She dashed off further into the warehouse.

“You’d better not be here at closing time!” Ayaka called after her.

* * *

If Asuna did leave before closing time, she had certainly chosen to return very early in the morning. Wearing pajamas. “I...ran out of milk!” she said hurriedly when she spotted Ayaka glaring at her. “Can’t eat cereal without it!”

“Surely, there are more convenient places to obtain milk?” Ayaka huffed. “Places less dangerous to walk around in without shoes?”

Asuna glanced down at her bare feet. “Well...I’m just a loyal customer! Can’t get enough of that Costco-brand milk.”

“There’s no such thing as Costco-brand milk,” Ayaka said icily. “And if you're having cereal for breakfast, why are you holding a piece of toast?”

“What, this?” Asuna said incredulously, taking a bite. “This is just to tide me over!”

“Asuna…” Ayaka said wearily.

“Oh, look at the time!” Asuna said, staring at her bare wrist. “I’ve gotta get to class!” she hurried towards the exit, still barefoot and in her pajamas.

Ayaka stared after the girl, exasperated. At least she was actually leaving this time. All Ayaka had to do now was to tell the security guards not to let her back in.

* * *

“What are you doing here?” Ayaka said tiredly. She had just finished her final round of inspections before closing time. Only to find Asuna sitting on one of the mattresses, typing away at a laptop.

Asuna held up a finger without looking away. “One sec. Gotta finished this paragraph,” she said distractedly. “Only got an hour left before I need to submit this.”

“It’s closing time,” Ayaka said pointedly. “And the wifi is for employees only. How do you get the password?”

“Konoka gave it to me.”

Ayaka sighed. “Of course she did,” she said in resignation. “How did you get back in, for that matter? Setsuna was watching the entrance.”

“Oh, I came in with Konoka,” Asuna said casually. “She was wearing a tanktop today. I think Setsuna was too busy trying not to stare at her to notice me.”

Ayaka shook her head. That was a sadly plausible explanation. “I’ll have to put Mana at the entrance from now on.”

Asuna growled, still staring at her laptop. “This is so dumb!” she complained. “Why does it matter why some character was wearing a red A? Maybe she just thought it looked cool!”

“Are...are you talking about The Scarlet Letter?” Ayaka asked incredulously. “You think Hester Prynne wore the letter A because it was cool?”

“Yeah, maybe? Maybe I should start wearing one!” she said, puffing out her chest. “A for Asuna!”

Ayaka stared at her in disbelief. “Did you...read the book?”

“I skimmed it!” Asuna said defensively.

Ayaka pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, Asuna,” she said slowly. “She did not wear the letter A ‘because it was cool’. It was a symbol of her adultery.”

“What’s so bad about being an adult?”

“That’s not what adultery means! It means having sex outside of marriage.”

“Oh!” Abruptly, Asuna turned red. “Wait! I didn’t-when I said I’d wear an A, I didn’t mean that I-I don’t do that!”

“Uh-huh,” Ayaka scoffed.

“I don’t!” Asuna said heatedly. “I’m a pure maiden!”

Ayaka snorted. “Sure you are. Who could doubt the virtue of a girl trying to live in a Costco?”

“I don’t live here! Anyways, just let me finish my essay.”

“If you didn’t even know what the scarlet letter stood for, it must be all wrong,” Ayaka said with a sigh. “Let me see your laptop.”

Asuna frowned. “Wait. You’re going to help me?”

“If it will get you out of here faster? Yes!” Ayaka bit out.

By the time the paper was halfway decent, it was ten minutes till the deadline, 50 minutes past closing time, and Ayaka was exhausted. “Yes!” Asuna said, pumping the air after sending it off. “Thank you so much!” She hugged Ayaka tightly.

Ayaka stiffened at the unexpected contact. People didn’t usually touch her. But...this was unexpectedly nice. Asuna was clearly showering properly, as she didn’t smell bad. And...she was very warm.

Ayaka had begun to relax a little when Asuna finally let go. “Oh! I just remembered, I’ve...gotta go to the bathroom,” she said quickly. She hurried off in the wrong direction.

“Asuna!” Ayaka called after frustratedly. But the red-haired girl had already rounded a corner. Which meant she either had to spend more time hunting her down, or accept defeat and lock up the store with her inside. “You can’t keep doing this, Asuna!”

* * *

“Excuse me?” an eledery woman asked, approaching Ayaka, who was sitting behind the front counter.

Ayaka smiled politely at the woman. “Good morning! How can I help you today?”

“Oh, are you the manager? It’s about one of your employees.”

“I am,” Ayaka said slowly. “What seems to be the matter?”

“Oh, nothing at all! I only wanted to say how helpful she was. I was having trouble reaching the tissues on a high shelf, and she was kind enough to retrieve them for me. Just climbed right up the shelves and hopped back down as if it were nothing!”

Ayaka frowned. “Well, that’s not proper procedure, but I’m glad they were of assistance. Did you happen to catch the employee’s name?”

“Oh, yes! Her name tag said her name was Asuna.”

Ayaka’s eyes widened. “Did it?” she said coldly. “Could you tell me where you saw her last, ma’am?”

When Ayaka arrived in the proper aisle, it was to see Asuna scaling the topmost shelf, and grabbing several boxes of cereal. Ayaka was temporarily distracted from her mission by the sight of Asuna’s biceps bulging through her sleeves. God. How was Asuna so ripped? She watched in mute appreciation as Asuna climbed back down, and handed the cereal to a small child, who ran off happily.

When Asuna turned and saw her, she recoiled. “Ayaka! Hey!” she said, taking a few steps back. “Fancy meeting you here!”

“I work here,” Ayaka said stonily, now able to focus on something besides Asuna’s muscles. “But you don’t. Why do you have a name tag on?”

“Oh, this?” Asuna said, pointing at the paper name tag. “This was...from class! Just so we can get to know each other. Forgot to take it off.”

“The semester is half-over.”

“Yeah. Kinda late for introductions, huh?” Asuna said, nervously laughing. “Anyways, a few people thought I was an employee, and asked for help. And since I knew where everything was, it wasn’t that hard to give them a hand.”

“And why do you know where everything is?”

“Because...I’m such a fan of Costco!”

“Not because you’ve been living here.”

“No, of course not!” Asuna said, shaking her head.

Ayaka sighed. “Asuna. If you’re going to wear a disguise, stick to fake mustaches. Pretending to be an employee confused the customers. And please, don’t climb the shelves. It’s not safe. Not to mention distracting,” she muttered.

“Distracting?” Asuna asked, puzzled.

Ayaka felt her face grow warm. Why did Konoka have to be right about her type? “Of course!” she spat out. “Seeing a wild woman climbing the shelves like a gorilla will disturb the customers.”

“Who’re you calling a gorilla?”

“Well, there’s only one wild woman here. The one wearing a big A!” Ayaka said triumphantly, pointing to the overly-large A on Asuna’s name tag.

Asuna jerked. “That’s-that’s just how I write my name! It’s not like-like that letter!”

“Sure,” Ayaka sneered.

“It isn’t! Besides, you're the one who should have an A!”

Ayaka frowned. “Me? Why?”

“B-because! Your name starts with A too! And you're the one being all seductive all the time.”

“What are you talking about?” Ayaka said angrily.

“C’mon, you know what I mean! You look like if Costco had runway models working here! With your beautiful hair and your perfect body and your-” Asuna clapped her hands over her mouth, as if to stuff the words back in. “Uh. Actually, I don't know what I’m talking about!” she said with a nervous laugh. “I’m just-gonna-” She fled without finishing her sentence. Ayaka was too flustered to give chase.

* * *

“Hey. Ayaka…” Asuna said tentatively.

“So, you’re not even pretending to hide from me anymore,” Ayaka said with a sigh, setting down her papers. It had been a week since their last conversation, though certainly not a week since she had last seen the girl. Asuna now seemed to be loitering wherever she happened to be in the warehouse, staring at her where she thought she wasn’t looking. It was very distracting, especially considering the last thing Asuna had said to her. _“She thinks I’m hot,”_ she’d thought over and over, while trying to do other tasks.

“Uh. These are for you,” Asuna said bluntly, dropping a clear plastic bag on the counter.

Ayaka picked it up and examined it critically. “Cookies?” she asked.

“Yeah! I made them!” Asuna said proudly. “With the oven in my house!”

Ayaka looked at her skeptically. Asuna drooped slightly. “Fine. I made them at Konoka’s house.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t just ask her if you can stay,” Ayaka said, shaking her head. “You seem to be good friends. I’d be surprised if she hasn’t already offered.”

“I can’t impose on her like that!” Asuna protested. “Besides, I know she’s trying to get Setsuna to move in right now.”

Ayaka snorted. “If Setsuna had to share a home with Konoka, I’m pretty sure she would combust from sheer embarrassment. Anyways, why are you giving me cookies?”

“Oh. Well, I got my paper back, and I got a good grade.”

“An ‘A’?” Ayaka asked, smiling widely.

Asuna laughed nervously. “Nah, just a B. But that’s still way better than I would’ve gotten without your help. So, I wanted to thank you. And, apologize, I guess.”

Ayaka lifted an eyebrow. “Apologize?”

“Yeah. You know. For all the stuff I’ve done and said,” Asuna said with an uncomfortable shrug. “I know staying here has made your life a lot harder. So, I’m moving out.”

Ayaka started. “You’re what?”

“I’m leaving,” Asuna said clearly. “Tonight. I’ll walk out of the store with you, wait for you to lock up, and I’ll never come back.”

“But...why?”

“Because I can’t keep mooching off of you! I guess when I thought about doing this, I just thought I’d be using some big company. But really, I’m just hurting you. And you deserve better than that. So, after tonight, I’ll be out of your hair. I just need to grab a few things before I go.” Without waiting for a reply, Asuna turned and disappeared down an aisle.

Staring after her, Ayaka bit into a cookie, before her face screwed up in disgust. “Ugh. These are awful.”

* * *

“So. That’s that!” Asuna said with forced cheer. “I’ve officially moved out!”

They were standing in the parking lot, which was deserted except for Ayaka’s car. Ayaka had just locked the door. “I half-expected you to change you to change your mind,” she confessed, studying Asuna’s face. “Just hide out in the frozen section somewhere. I wouldn’t have looked very hard.”

Asuna shook her head. “Nah. I’m done with that.”

“Where are you going to go?”

Asuna let out a short laugh. “Um. Not sure yet. Was hoping I could crash in the library, but turns out they’re closed for the next couple of days. So, I’m hoping I can temporarily rent somebody’s couch. I’ve got a little money.”

“That seems...unsafe.”

“Well, it’s safer than being on the street,” Asuna said with a crooked smile. “So. See ya?” She offered her hand for a shake.

Ayaka shook her head briskly. “No, I think not.”

Asuna withdrew her hand, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t allow you to just end up on someone’s couch. What if they were to try something? Aren’t you a ‘pure maiden’?”

“Hey, I can take care of myself!” Asuna said hotly. “You don’t get to tell me how to live my life!”

“You chose to ‘live your life’ in a Costco,” Ayaka said coolly. “I don’t think your decision-making skills are trustworthy.”

“Well, that else am I supposed to do?”

“You’re staying with me,” Ayaka said simply.

Asuna’s jaw dropped. “What? No, I can’t-I can’t ask you to-”

“You’re not asking me for anything,” Ayaka said sternly. “I’m telling you what is going to happen. You will stay in my home until you have saved enough for your own place.”

“Like hell I will!” Asuna blustered. “I don’t need your charity!”

“There’s no use protesting,” Ayaka said calmly. “I’ve made up my mind.”

Asuna glared at her. “Fine!” she bit off. “Just for the next couple of days. But after that, I’m out of there!”

Ayaka smiled. “As you wish.” She began walking towards the car. “Oh. I should mention that my couch is strictly off-limits for sleeping. The last thing I need is for guests to sit in your drool.”

“Fine, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. My bed is more than capable of holding two people.”

“What?!” Asuna exclaimed, chasing after her. “Ayaka!”


End file.
